<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about graduating on time, as long as you plan ahead. All the students I know who took longer than four years to graduate did so because they changed their major multiple times, they took a reduced courseload, they double majored/minored, they didn’t pass courses that were only offered once a year, or some combination of the above. I don’t know of anyone who didn’t graduate solely because they weren’t able to get into a class that they needed. Priority registration is fantastic, yes, but the majority of students graduate on time without it. You can plan out your schedule, and make sure that you take required classes earlier on and electives later, in case there’s an unforeseen time conflict or a class fills up. You can take the odd course over the summer, if you want to. Most of the classes that are in high demand are offered every quarter (most of the classes you’ll need for biology will be offered very frequently because biology is a popular major) and will likely have multiple sessions. If you don’t get into a class one quarter, you can take it the next quarter, and since your registration time is determined by the number of units you have, the closer you get to graduation the better your registration time will be. There’s a two pass system, so that students are only allowed to register for 2 courses during the first pass, giving students chances to get the courses they need to stay on track. There are many, many ways to make sure that you graduate on time, and it’s very, very do-able. You might just have to have some planning and flexibility. Most of the people I knew at UCSD graduated in four years, many with STEM and/or double majors.</p>
<p>Also, in terms of class size, you can take seminars in topics (there are freshman and senior seminars) that have a small class size and are generally discussion based. I took a couple of freshman seminars and they were very fun, and the biology department has a handful of senior seminars every quarter that you can take as well. There are also smaller class sizes in some of the upper division courses. Since biology is a huge major at UCSD, though, many of the courses are larger. I took smaller, discussion based classes in other departments, though, and they were some of the best classes I took at UCSD.</p>
<p>The social atmosphere is really what you make of it. I knew people in college who partied every weekend (and a handful of weekdays =D), and I know people who stayed in most of the time. If you want a crazy “college experience” with parties or club-hopping every other night, then you can find it. If you want to relax with friends or study in the library or go to a movie, you can do that too. Or you can have all of the above. You may not have parties banging on your door every night, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.</p>
<p>Do have a preference for location or campus? Try to look at opportunities in the local area as well. UCSD has a number of close by research labs and biotech companies that often hire students as interns or have research volunteers, which is good experience for biology majors. Are there admit days that you can attend or some other way to visit the schools? Is there a campus that you have a stronger gut feeling about? Are there any opportunities you are particularly interested in? UCSD is a good school, but I’m sure UCSB is a good school as well. Go to the one you are more comfortable at, and think you can thrive in.</p>